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The Escape Artist episode one review | Kill jester

The Escape Artist episode one review


BBC1

Vic Mackey once said “I don’t recall signing up for an ethics class from a scumbag drug lawyer” and it’s easy to forget that all defence lawyers, with no exceptions, are soulless pieces of shit. The Escape Artist is a timely reminder. Junior brief Will Burton (David Tennant) is one such lawyer. He’s the Houdini of getting scrotes out of tight corners hence his nickname: smug Jock cunt The Escape Artist He’s just been voted number one junior barrister all over heaven by Corporate Jizz-Guzzling Barrister Monthly and second on that list is Moriarty to his Holmes Maggie Gardner (Sophie Okonedo). There’s hilarious back-and-forth between the two and the only reason I don’t recount it is I fear you will hurt yourself laughing at the badinage. Just take it from me, it’s classic bants.

He’s the Houdini of getting scrotes out of tight corners hence his nickname: smug Jock cunt The Escape Artist

But it’s in the courtroom that Will really comes alive. He defends Liam Foyle (Toby Kebbell) who stands accused of the horrific rape, torture and murder of Sandra Mullins. The prosecution cite credit card payments to extreme porn sites as evidence of his depraved character. But when Will establishes that no such sites appear on his computer and that the credit card payments could have been identity theft it only takes some of his signature legal chicanery to get Foyle released on a technicality. Take that, cruelly murdered girl’s family!

Will gets Foyle released on a technicality. Take that, cruelly murdered girl’s family!

Will is delighted with the outcome and so is Foyle although he has a funny way of showing it. If you find him murdering Will’s wife Kate (Ashley Jensen) funny I mean. To be fair it’s what we were all thinking of doing to her when she was in Extras.

Will starts drinking heavily. He’s gone from the escape artist to the piss artist.

There’s a funeral. Will starts drinking heavily. He’s gone from the escape artist to the piss artist. Now he will travel the world marrying women so he can defend their murderers and be bereaved all over again. And to top it all who is defending his wife’s murderer? His arch nemesis, the second-best priest Praggie Tardner. “What kind of monster would defend such a – oh right”.

Yeah, so this seems pretty decent but I’m going to need some persuading that Liam Foyle is a convincing super killer. Paul Spector in The Fall I bought as they went to quite a bit of trouble to flesh him out. This dude just seems like an aggregate of posho serial killer ticks from down the ages. Tennant is much the same as he is in everything.  But yeah, fuck it – I’ll give this a go. The premise has got legs.

The verdict: We’re not here to talk nonsense to Bob Loblaw.

Marks out of 10: 7

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